Jonah Konarz doesn’t have to look far for help with his hurdles races this track and field season.

The Anchor Bay senior has in sophomore Kacy Agyeman a buddy for training and competition, and their togetherness showed Friday when they finished 1-2 in the 110-meter event at the Barnyard Invitational and Elite Mile Showcase at Romeo.

“I look at his times and try to aim for that,” Agyeman said. “I look at his videos after meets to see what I have to improve.”

“He’s definitely a good student,” Konarz added.

Dealing with a headwind from the east, Konarz finished in 15.33 seconds.

“We’ve been working on speed, speed, speed the last couple of weeks,” Konarz said.

“It’s just rep after rep. I’m definitely looking toward working my way to states.”

Agyeman finished in 16.20.

He and Konarz both planned to run the 300 hurdles later in the evening. Their scheduled break of a few hours was extended when the meet was delayed because of lightning.

“It’s close,” Konarz said when asked whether he favors the shorter or longer race. “At states, definitely the 110.

“I like running fast.”

Eddie Komph, the Anchor Bay coach, said Konarz has a skill set for more than hurdles.

“I tell him all the time he’s a better 400 runner, but he likes hurdles,” Komph said.

Konarz ran a career-best 14.89 in the 110 event during a Macomb Area Conference Red Division dual meet against Romeo on April 15. That was close to the 14.8 standard set by the Michigan High School Athletic Association for early qualifying for the state finals.

Previously, athletes could qualify only at regional meets, but this year they can by meeting standards at EQ-approved events like the Barnyard.

“A bit of me was (hoping for an EQ),” Konarz said. “But when I came here and saw how much wind there was, I was just hoping to get close to my PR and win the race.

“It was a tough race with the wind, but I’m pretty happy about how it wound up.”

Komph said an EQ isn’t a priority for Konarz.

“We’re trying to keep that out of our minds and focus on the little things,” Kompf said. “We don’t want to put more stress on him when he’s already running at a high level.”

Konarz ran his 2024 season-best of 15.20 at the Macomb County High School Invitational Track Meet of Champions in May. He joined a club team and ran indoors during the winter and said that experience jump-started his outdoor season.

“There’s a little less pressure running indoors, but at the same time there’s a lot of competition, so it pushes you to get better,” he said.

Komph said Konarz sets an example by how hard he works.

“He gets down to every little detail in his races,” the coach said.

Agyeman’s career-best time was 15.67 at the Romeo dual meet.

Last year, he posted a season-best 16.19 during a meet against Grosse Pointe South.

“I started (hurdling) in seventh grade, but I didn’t have good form at all until ninth grade,” Agyeman said.

In junior high and middle school, hurdles events are 55 and 200 meters.

The extra distance at the high school level is significant, Konarz said.

“You need endurance,” Agyeman said. “I was pretty shocked the first time I did it in high school.”

“You learn from it and you try to get better,” Konarz added.

The Barnyard Invitational began with the 3200 relay, which was won by Eisenhower’s girls and boys.

Adeline Youngberg, Annabella Gjokaj, Katherine Farmer and Jacalyn Yakel finished in 11:88.0, and Alex Perry, Ben Dotter, Anthony Frei and Colden Gray in 8:40.51.

The meet, which drew runners from as far away as the Upper Peninsula, featured several heats of the 1600/mile run.